Wednesday, July 28, 2010

Now a days we are enjoying pure home made ice cream treats as lunch, specially when outside temperature is in 90's. Kids don't want to eat lunch specially when they are slepping till 10 in the morning & by the time they finish their breakfast or I should call it brunch it's almost noon. So, as soon as one batch is made, plan for next batch is already in discussion.....so Mom do U think we can make choc. flavour next time. I'm only the incharge of making sure that we have enough supplies on hand as the credit for this delicious ice cream goes to my 8 yr. old & her Dad. Now for the recipe :

What U need :

3/4 cup whole milk, chilled

3/4 cup regular sugar

2 cups heavy cream, chilled

1 tsp. pure vanilla extract(optional)

pulp from 2 medium size mangoes, chilled

What U do :

Using a blender puree the mango pulp, use pulse if u like little pieces in it, keep aside.

Using a hand mixer or a whisk combine the milk & granulated sugar, until it dissolved.

Stir in heavy cream & vanilla to taste.

If using ice cream maker follow the instructions of the ice cream maker. Towards the last 10 minutes of churning add chilled mango pulp & once done(usually whole process takes about 35 min.) transfer it to air-tight containers & let it freeze for at least 2 hours or so.

If U don't have ice cream maker blend everything together including mango pulp & let it set in the freezer in air tight container & every couple of hours take it out whip the ice cream(to break the ice crystals), freeze it again. Repeat the process for at least 3 more times.

Here's a pic of Coffee Ice cream with home made brownie bits as topping(Coffee + Chocolate nothing can beat the combination). For coffee version omit mango pulp & blend 3 tablespoon of instant coffee powder with the mixture & during the last 5 minutes of churning process add 3 tablespoon of chopped semi sweet chocolate+ 3 tablespoon of roasted chopped almonds.

Note : It's been 5 years since I'm using my Cuisinart ice cream maker but have never tried manual method but it's a common process & in my case comes from an experienced person who in his childhood has done lot of arm wrestling for this yummy cold treats, yes you guys guessed it right it's DH.....in fact he has some first hand experience of making "mutki wali kulfi" too.....but for that I'm gonna need matka first so till then I'm happy with my electronic ice-cream maker.

Saturday, July 24, 2010

I have a very good excuse for making another bread in a row, Champa of Versatile Vegetarian Kitchen is hosting a CSN giveaway for which she has a condition that bake/cook anything from her blog , so what can be a better reason for trying new recipes & also I really like her baking recipes, specially breads. Make sure you check out her blog for more wonderful recipes. My first trial from her collection of bread recipes was Challah Bread which came out really good & now is the turn of Basic White Bread, again with good results. I've mainly followed the original recipe but have made little changes in term of ingredients. So please check the original recipe for full details as I'm only going to write down the changes I've made.

Original recipe uses 3-3 & 1/4 cup Bread flour or All purpose flour(APF), I substituted 1 cup of APF with whole wheat pastry flour & rest I used was APF.

I used only 1 tablespoon of sugar & not 2.

Salt 1 & 1/2 tsp.

I also covered my bread after first 10 minutes of baking as I've noticed in my previous bakes like Challah & Biscotti that my oven brown the breads & cookies little too early so to prevent that covering it loosely with the foil is way to go.

I used stand mixer to knead the dough at speed 2 for around 7-8 minutes.

Here's another look at the dough/bread at various stages.

Shaping a Loaf : Just in case if some one is new to bread making I thought these 3 steps about how to shape a loaf, will be helpful(source : KitchenAid stand mixer recipe book) :

On a lightly floured surface, roll dough into a rectangle, approximately 9x14 inches.

Starting at a short end, roll the dough tightly. Pinch to seal the seam.

Pinch the ends & turn them under. Place the dough, seam side down, in a loaf pan. Follow the directions in the recipe for rising & baking.

Wednesday, July 21, 2010

I Love to make bread but the only problem is when it's freshly made at home there is no portion control, it happened earlier also & happened again this time too. It vanishes or 1-2 slices are left. Few weeks back I tried my hands on Challah bread after seeing it on Champa's blog, she has a good collection of baking recipes. Not once but two days in a row I made this bread. First day I tried with all purpose flour & second trial was with whole wheat flour. I divided the recipe into half so that I get only one loaf ,also made little bit of changes, for original recipe click here. Now for the recipe :

What U need:

All purpose flour- 2 cups

Sugar - 2 Tblsp.

Vegetable oil - 2 Tblsp.

Salt - 1 tsp

Egg - 1

Warm water - Mixed with egg to make 3/4 cup

Active Dry yeast - 1/2 Tblsp.

What to do :

Add enough water to beaten egg so that it make 3/4 cup of liquid in total. Pour it into stand mixer bowl. Sprinkle yeast & sugar on it. Let it sit for 8-10 minutes or till yeast become frothy.

Add salt & oil, attach the dough hook & turn the mixer on at speed 2 & slowly start adding flour, half a cup at a time. Knead it at speed 2 till it turns into smooth dough, took around 6 minutes or so (This process can be done by hand also as suggested in original recipe you need to knead the dough for about 10 minutes or so).

Rub oil in a big bowl & let the dough rest in it, cover the bowl with plastic wrap. In an hour or so dough should be doubled in size but it can take more time also depending upon the temp. in the room/kitchen where the dough is kept. Mine took 1 & half hour this time.

On a lightly floured surface divide the dough into 3 equal parts & roll each part into around 10" long log. Place all the 3 logs side by side.

Wet tips of your one hand fingers with some milk & pinch one end of all the 3 logs together to join them. Dry your hands & make a braid with those 3 logs & again join them at the end, the way we did in the beginning.

Move the braided dough to parchment lined baking sheet. Brush it with milk. Cover loosely with aluminum foil & let it rise for another hour or so.

Toward the end of rising period turn the oven on at 375 degree F for pre-heating. Again brush it with milk before putting it in the oven.

Bake at 375 degree F for first 10 minute. Reduce the temp. to 350 degree F & continue baking for another 20-25 min. or till nicely browned and the bottom sounds hollow when tapped.

Cool on wire rack.

Note : In my first trial bread got too much browned.

So when I baked it second time the very next day I covered it loosely with foil after first 10 minutes of baking & result was good. Also I kept the oven at 375 instead of 400. It was a whole wheat version......some time taking so many pics can be confusing....forgot to take picture of final result.

For Whole wheat version I added around 1 & 1/2 Tblsp. of thick home made curd(yogurt) while kneading the dough as whole wheat flour usually needs little extra liquids or u can simply decrease the quantity of flour by 2-3 Tblsp. I'm sending this bread to Champa of Versatile Vegetarian Kitchen for her weekly Bake-off.